


6 Skeletons, One On the Way

by benguiat



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Heat Cycles, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Self-Harm, heat cycle, skelepreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benguiat/pseuds/benguiat
Summary: Fell wakes up the morning after his first heat cycle to find himself unexpectedly pregnant. Predictably, he panics and is uncertain how he'll manage. Luckily, he has five loving datemates to reassure him.
Relationships: Papyrus/Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus/Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 78





	6 Skeletons, One On the Way

**Author's Note:**

> I've had terrible writers block for about six months now and the most I've been able to do is go back to old wips and rewrite them. That's what this is! Hope you enjoy!

Fuck.

_Fuck._

_Fuck, fuck, fuck-_

Fell had rightfully panicked when his first heat began several days ago. His (many) lovers had all been quick to comfort him, telling him it was perfectly normal now that they'd all happily SOUL bonded. Especially now that he was more relaxed with them, and more relaxed in general. Living on the surface, a stable and non-life-threatening living as a librarian, five doting mates; it was no wonder his magic had decided it was ready to hunker down for the long haul, Fell had, too. But he and his magic apparently weren’t on the _exact_ same page, because he certainly didn’t think he was ready to be fucking _pregnant._

He’d felt the odd magic gathered in his middle the moment he’d woken up. He had summoned his ectobody in the midst of all the… heat-induced lovemaking… but there was now something in his gut that distinctly wasn’t _his._ It was a challenge to ease himself out from the middle of their massive bed, surrounded by his lovers on all sides, and once he’d reached the bathroom and taken a good look at himself in the mirror it was plain and obvious that he was now hosting a tiny new SOUL.

His kid.

 _Their_ _kid._

It was impossible to create a new SOUL without all participating parties having the intent for one, so they had all wanted one, at least subconsciously. His mates had done nothing but proclaim their love and excitement for their future together in the past few days, but that was before he’d been _pregnant._ What if they decided they weren’t ready? What if it was too much for them? What if they all _left him?_ Or more realistically, _kicked him out?_

_It was kill or be killed. He was practically a walking target now, reputation be damned. He was weak; he couldn't defend himself like this. He would have to completely rely on his mates for protection, food, shelter. It was too much to ask, he would be helpless and needy, they'd get tired of him and decide he wasn’t worth the trouble--_

A knock on the door and one of his mate's (he was too far gone to identify who) soft inquiry briefly pulled him away from his spiraling panic. “Fell, could I come in?”

He didn't answer, instead scrambling to pull on his bathrobe before they came in- and in the process, he smeared marrow on it, only now realizing his claws had been viciously digging into his wrists while he'd started panicking.

“Fell? Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Fell choked out, his voice thick and wet. He could pass it off as being drowsy. He turned on the sink and thrust his hands under the water to wash away the marrow, and his position in front of the sink hid the stains on his robe. “Sorry. You can come in.”

It was Papyrus that came in, unsurprisingly. He was one of the early birds. He went right past Fell to the second sink, grabbing his toothbrush. “Good morning, dear! Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” Fell answered shortly.

“That's good to hear! You did manage to sleep the whole night through. Your heat must have finally broken! That was an especially long one, considering you had the five of us to help you with it. Thank goodness it's finally over, I was starting to chafe!”

Stars, he was already enough of a bother _without_ being pregnant. They hadn't expected his heat to be four days long, it wasn't _supposed_ to be. If they'd known how long his heat would be they wouldn't have even offered to help in the first place, and they wouldn't be exhausted and chafing and he wouldn't be _pregnant_ . This was _all his fault._

“I’m sorry,” Fell mumbled, throat tight and eyelights fuzzy. Pathetic.“You don’t have to help next time. I can just take care of it by myself- now that I know what to expect.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous!” Papyrus insisted incredulously, voice muffled with toothpaste foam. “If it was four days _with_ us, it could be more than _twice_ as long on your own! Besides, we’re your mates, it’s our job to help you!”

Stars, they only did it out of _obligation_ . “It shouldn’t _have_ to be your _job.”_

“...Fell, are you okay?”

He stiffened as Papyrus moved up behind him and turned off the tap, gently reaching for his hands. Papyrus’ fingers felt ice cold and soothing against his own angry red claws. “Fell, that water was scalding! What’s gotten into you- what’s on your-?”

Logically, Fell knew Papyrus wasn’t angry or disappointed. He knew Papyrus would, in fact, vehemently deny it if it was brought up. But the way his whole frame sagged and the silence that fell over them when he saw the marrow on his bathrobe really felt like disappointment. Fell apologized without thinking, like some kind of reflex when he saw one of his mates upset. “I’m sorry-”

“Oh, stop that,” Papyrus sighed, gently coaxing Fell to sit up on the counter. Papyrus pulled the first aid kit Fell had stocked himself out from the sink cabinet and began carefully dressing his wrists. “We’re going to have to talk about this with the others. You know that.”

“I know.”

“And you know why?”

“Mnh…”

“Fell.”

“...because it’s not healthy to bottle it up.”

“And because we love you.”

“...I love you too.”

 _“I_ love _you,_ Fell,” came Blue’s drowsy, but ever enthusiastic voice, even as his eyelights were still fuzzy with sleep. He walked, or more accurately stumbled in, looking barely conscious. He always forced himself to wake early, despite being a heavy sleeper. He looked much more awake when he saw the marrow and the bandages.

Fell was grateful Papyrus changed the subject before Blue had a chance to mention it. “How rude of you to leave me out, Blue! I’m hurt!”

Blue took a moment to realize what Papyrus was doing, and it took him another moment to force a smile and reply, slinging around Papyrus’ waist and nuzzling his ribs for show. “You know I didn't mean it like that! I love all my datemates equally! It’s just easy to get distracted by Fell’s rugged good looks!”

“Are you implying I’m not as ruggedly handsome as Fell?”

“If you had more battle scars, maybe,” Fell choked out, still uneasy amidst the forced lightheartedness. He appreciated his datemates for trying to distract him, but soon tuned them out. He didn’t deserve them. Especially now that he was just going to be a burden on them- he was eventually going to have to stop working, and he was going to have weird cravings, and morning sickness, and could very well be bedridden near the end of it-

“ _Hey,”_ Blue came up to his side, nuzzling his shoulder and mumbling by his ear, “I know that look. You need to get out of your own head.” Blue effortlessly swept Fell up into his arms (which never failed to warm his cheekbones), and in this rarest of circumstances Fell didn't complain, hugging his mate tightly around the neck.

“Looks like someone needs a cuddle puddle!”

Fell didn't confirm or deny, but Blue still carried him back into the bedroom anyway. Usually he would secretly enjoy his much smaller datemate sweeping him off his feet- it was nice to feel small, sometimes, to hide himself away in Blue’s arms- but...

_They were likely tired of this by now- Papyrus and Blue would tell the others what had happened in the bathroom they'd all start talking behind his back. They'd probably agree as a group to dump him alone on the streets-_

Suddenly, Fell was yanked away from his thoughts figuratively and literally, and was set on the center of their bed, in the middle of the three lazybones still asleep. Blue was quick to set to work walking them up, shaking each of them firmly and announcing loudly until they showed signs of waking, “ _Hey,_ Fell needs some cuddles! Hey! Cuddle puddle! I need the specialists!”

“aww, ya think we're special? shucks.”

Fell couldn't tell which lump the slurred speech came from, but Red was the first to pull himself upright, untangling himself from the other two to drape himself against Fell’s back. Stretch was only a moment behind, rolling over to stretch himself across Fell’s lap like a pleased cat. Sans was the last to follow after several groggy and confused moments groping around the bed for cuddly mates who weren't where they were supposed to be. He cracked an eye socket open just a sliver, only long enough to locate said mates, and promptly slumped against Fell’s side, none-too-subtly trying to wiggle his way to being squished between Fell and Red.

Once the “specialists” had settled in, Blue announced that he would be joining, embracing the pile of bones from behind Sans (who actually began purring happily as he was cuddled from all sides). Papyrus, the tallest of them, huddled against Fell’s side opposite Blue and used his lanky limbs to hug all five other skeletons.

Fell wasn't surprised when the mates who'd found him in the bathroom began projecting their intent of /LOVE/ and /SECURITY/, but the lazybones all immediately became more alert.

“hey,” Sans mumbled, face squished in between Red and Blue, but still managing to shoot Fell a look of concern, “is this an emotional support cuddle?”

“Unfortunately,” Papyrus answered, making Fell’s SOUL twist.

It _was_ unfortunate. Fell was souring the mood of an otherwise sleepy, relaxed cuddle puddle™ and they were going to resent him for it- maybe if he left now they could salvage it without him. He began his attempt to ease himself out from underneath them. “You’re right, I’ll go. I’ll make breakfast, how does pancakes sound-?”

Red grunted into Fell’s spine, arms suddenly snaking around his chest and keeping him from trying to wiggle out of the group cuddle. “mmh. stop tha’.”

“That’s not what he meant and you know it,” Stretch chimed in, almost scolding in his tone.

“That was a poor choice of words!” Papyrus insisted, horrified that he’d inadvertently made his mate feel even worse than before. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Well it _is_ unfortunate,” Blue pouted, giving Fell a stern look, “that even after four straight days of us insisting otherwise, you still think you’re some kind of bother to us!”

“hey, sweetheart,” Red mumbled, cupping Fell’s cheek and gently prompting eye contact- his eyes were bright and intense, no longer fuzzy with sleep. “s’that really what this is about?”

Fell didn’t reply, but they both knew Red could read him like a book. Out of all his mates, Red had been with him the longest, all the way back when they were in the underground and it was Fell’s duty to protect him. Red only needed to stare him down for a few moments to know what the answer was, sighing and shaking his head tiredly. While he tried to come up with something delicate to say, Stretch had no trouble voicing his opinion on the matter.

“Don’t be a dummy. We love you.” He illustrated his point by pressing gentle kisses to Fell’s femur as he spoke.

Red snorted. “not as eloquent as I was hopin’ to be, but yeah. that’s about the gist of it. ya been taking care of me for years, boss. am I a burden on you?”

Fell was horrified at even the _implication_ that he thought Red was a burden. “Of _course_ not-”

“then you’re being kind of a hypocrite, aren’t you?” Sans suggested, and looking so damn smug about it.

“It’s not the same thing-”

“s’ exactly the same,” Red huffed, rolling his eyes. “i know you always had to be the one takin’ care of me ‘cause i was free EXP underground, but y’know things on the surface are different. it’s give’n take. ya don’t gotta have all that on yer shoulders anymore.”

“But you shouldn’t have to either. And I’m- I’m going to be so _helpless_ and _weak,_ I’ll be easy EXP and you’ll have _protect_ me constantly because I won’t be able to-”

“boss. we’re not _there_ anymore.” Red interrupted him- _he kept_ _fucking interrupting him._

“I _know_ we’re not fucking _there anymore!”_ Fell snapped, voice cracking as he shouted and welling tears finally spilling over in frustration. “ _I know!_ But just because we’re _here_ doesn’t mean being this is any less _dangerous_ or fucking _scary!_ Being pregnant means being _tired_ and _slow_ and I won’t have any my magic and I won’t be able to defend myself, I’ll just be a _walking_ _target,_ and I’ll have to stop working and _you’ll all_ have to do _everything_ for me and I’ll just sit at home all day and- and- and I’ll get _fat-”_

“You’re pregnant?”

“fuck- are you really-?”

“holy shit.”

“Oh my stars- we’re going to have a baby?”

“We’re having a baby!”

The cuddles suddenly got much tighter, though distinctly not around his middle. His face was soon smothered, his mates all practically shoving each other aside to shower him with kisses and nuzzle his cheeks. All except for Stretch, still on his lap, where after a moment's hesitation he delicately caressed Fell’s middle. Papyrus, Blue, Stretch and Sans all clamoured excitedly- what, exactly, Fell couldn’t tell because they all spoke over each other and it blended into a mush of noise.

Red, on the other hand, was soon shedding his own tears as well, albeit much happier ones.

They'd grown up in the same world; where pregnancy was weakness, a child was a liability, and raising one just wasn't feasible unless you were well-off. Children were rare, and most were shipped off as new guard recruits. Never having children of their own had been a simple fact of life that they’d had to accept.

But then the surface; where children were abundant, and in some neighborhoods you could even trust your child was safe to wander around unaccompanied! They had both immediately aspired to find jobs working with children. Red had gotten his teaching certification as quickly as he could, and began teaching second-grade science- an insult to his _several_ PhDs, maybe, but he'd never been happier. As for Fell, his favourite part of working at the library (apart from quietly reorganizing a poorly put-together human filling system) was listening to the quiet chatter and colorful imaginations from the children’s play area. 

Despite that, though, they had never talked about having children of their own- almost as if they had never realized that they _could,_ even now that they were on the surface.

And now, they were suddenly living that far-off fantasy.

“i’m not worried about havin’ to take care of ya, asshole! yer givin’ us a fucking _kid,_ ” Red started blubbering. _“shit-_ I’m gonna be a _dad-”_

“You don’t have to, but can we see?” Stretch asked, gently prodding at Fell’s bathrobe.

The other five immediately quieted, all eagerly awaiting his response, drawing back a bit so as not to crowd him so much. Fell didn’t believe how overjoyed and excited they all were, and he told them as much. “I'm going to be _useless_ for the next couple months. You-You're all really fine with having to _constantly_ take care of me-?”

“ _Fell,”_ Blue laughed in disbelief, “You won’t be _useless._ You're going to be _pregnant!_ You don’t think that warrants getting to put your feet up for a bit?”

“Yeah, c'mon,” Stretch chimed in, “You're literally growing a kid. You get a free pass to sit on your ass and let us wait on you hand and foot for a few months.”

“hey, if it’s really that unappealin’ i'll trade ya,” Sans winked. “ior real, though. it's not gonna kill us, babe. i can do midnight snack runs when ya get weird cravings. i know all the best shortcuts.”

“Oh, as if even Fell could get you up, lazybones,” Papyrus scoffed. “I can do midnight snack runs! I run _very_ fast.”

“And Papyrus and I can cook you whatever you’d like!” Blue buzzed excitedly.

“I give the best massages,” Stretch offered, “That oughta come in handy when your joints get all achy.”

“i’m the best cuddler,” Red sniffled, which everyone else nodded to in sage agreement, “d-don’t even need to get ya a pregnancy pillow, ya can just use me, heh.”

“We love you, Fell. We _want_ to take care of you.”

Fell couldn’t tell which one of his mates had said that, because he was quickly becoming a mess, turning to hide his tears against one of them. And even as he sniffled on their bones and his cheeks got all sticky from crying, they still kissed him and told him they loved him and how happy they were to be parents together. It was still hard to believe he was okay to just take it easy, everything would be under control, but at the very least he could acknowledge that they were doing this together. They wanted this. They _loved_ him. And they already loved the kid that wasn’t even here yet.

Once he’d composed himself, he sat up and dried his eyes, told his mates he loved them, and opened his bathrobe to show off his ectobody and the tiny speck of a new SOUL nestled in his middle.

It wasn’t much to look at but Red’s tears were soon back in full swing, Blue and Papyrus were quickly tearing up, and Sans’ and Stretch’s jaws dropped in awe.

“C-Can we-?...” Blue asked tentatively, hand hovering outstretched near Fell’s middle. All the others quickly looked up at him inquisitively, hopefully awaiting his response.

Fell scoffed, rubbing away one last stray tear. “Morons, it's _your_ kid.”

Five hands immediately pressed against his midsection, hiding the new SOUL from view- but a brief little flare of magic tingled under their fingers and up Fell’s spine.

“Oh my god! What was that!”

“heh, lil’ guy probably knows our magic.”

“Gasp! They _know_ us!!! Hello, little one!”

“Holy shit, ha, hey baby!”

“fuck, lookit you, sweetheart!...”

Fell chuckled as he watched his mates swoon and gush over the new SOUL, whispering and talking to it already. They looked ridiculous.

Fell loved them. They loved him, and they all loved this kid already.

They were in this together.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a couple ideas for follow-up chapters of this, but I'll just have to wait and see how the writer's block is treating me :')  
> Thank you for reading! Comments are much appreciated ^^


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